On May 31st, 2012 the Maxwell family boarded a plane and moved to Swaziland to live at Project Canaan. I hope to update my blog on Saturday mornings and share, as honestly as I can, the highs and lows of our life in Africa. We are living on a farm in a remote part of this tiny Kingdom and are serving the community as well as the orphans and vulnerable children of the nation. The 365 day count down started on June 1st, 2011, but the real journey begins now. Thanks for joining us.

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Saturday, April 25, 2015

It’s Saturday afternoon and it’s the end of a long week,
which is at the end of a long 5 weeks.Like anyone whose been away from home for 4-weeks, there is a LOT of
work to catch up on when you return.Ian and I have had a very intense week filled with meetings,
decision-making, project follow-up and new project initiation.Those things, coupled with jet-lag
and the important role of planning a Memorial service for Shirley Ward
(complete with accommodation many Royal and Government VIP’s) has made sitting
on our patio to write this blog, a good ending to a good week.

While we had a lot to do when we got home, we continue to
give thanks to the amazing team of people who keep things running smoothly
while we are away.Our Swazi and
Kenyan leadership are truly amazing and we are thankful for the extra burden
they carry when we are away. None of it is easy, but they all do it with grace
and joy.

Today I would like to tell you about the other people who
help our Swazi’s and Kenyan’s “hold the fort” as we say in North America … the
people who heard God tell them to “move to Africa”… most Christian’s worst fear,
and they said, “YES”.

Our long-term volunteers have “given up everything” to come
and serve here and while this list is in no way exhaustive, I want you
to think about it from your own perspective, what if it was YOU who was asked
to move to Swaziland to serve the Lord at Project Canaan.

·They miss access to making a simple phone call
to say hello to a friend, complain
about a bad day or share good news.

·They miss “normal” mail service to drop a card
in the mail or send birthday wishes or condolences for a lost loved one.

·They miss the seeing the latest episode of the
favorite show, or real time sports games or the Stanley Cup playoffs.

·They miss birthday parties, and anniversaries
and graduations and Easter and Thanksgiving and Christmas and Mother’s Day and
Father’s day.

·They miss visiting their parents who are in a
nursing home, or friends who are in hospital.

·They miss attending funerals of children dying
of childhood cancer or aged relatives slipping away in their sleep.

·They miss sleeping in their own beds, in their
own homes (without bars, electric fencing, a security guard and 44 little
children in the same building).

·They miss the “normal” part of a “normal North
American life” including traffic jams, annoying co-workers, their home church
on Sunday, dry cleaners and drive-thru restaurants.

But in return for their obedience, they get to see miracles
every day, they get to see what God is doing everyday and they get to be a part
of a new work that is and will continue to change the face of the Kingdom of
Swaziland including. Here are just a few examples of how our long-term
volunteers are directly having impact at Project Canaan.They are:

·Producing milk for the children who live at
Project Canaan.

·Identifying and stopping the spread of diarrhea
or ear infections to 90 other children.

·Designing jewelry and training men and women to
make it so that they can provide for their own families rather than begging in
the streets for food.

·Developing and teaching good farming and
management practices that will help generate income to make Project Canaan
self-sustainable.

·Driving a baby to the emergency room to save
his/her life, and then getting to pick that baby up again when he/she has been
healed.

·Making cheese to be sold in local grocery stores
to help generate income and awareness of the work that is being done.

·Teaching the once abandoned children who now
live about Project Canaan about language, spelling, math, colors and texture as
well as about love, giving, caring and the Word of God.

·Constructing beautiful buildings that will last
for generations and be home to hundreds of orphaned children that God is
sending for safety at Project Canaan.

·Sitting and rocking an Autistic child to calm
his spirit and tell him he is loved.

·Doing CPR on a dying baby in the backseat of a
car, while your husband is rushing to the hospital with hopes of saving the
child’s life.

There
are not enough words for me to list all of the things that our volunteers do
here in Swaziland, or to fully explain their lives here, but Ian and I want to say
“thank you” to each of you. Please know that we love you and are so incredibly
proud of you and thankful for the sacrifices you have made to follow Him.

May
the Lord bless you abundantly for your obedience and continue to give you the
desires of your hearts.

Saturday, April 18, 2015

This past month has been fun, long, hard, exciting, exhausting,
rewarding, encouraging and filled with hope.

I am always encouraged to meet people who say that they
start their Saturday mornings with a cup of coffee and this blog.Many of those people also follow me on
Facebook so when I write my weekly blog I try not to repeat what has already
been posted.That being said, for
those of you readers who don’t follow on Facebook, I want to be sure to give
you a short update on some of our favorite, and important moments from our time
in North America this past month.

I will start by saying that Ian and my hearts are in
Swaziland.The work that we do and
roles that we fill are more than full time jobs and we spend 100% of our time
focusing on all things “Project Canaan”, and we LOVE IT.So packing for 3 weather zones, to go
on 12 flights and stay in 9 different hotels/rooms in 4 weeks is not really our
idea of “fun” anymore.

That being said, this month was amazing and here are just a
few photos to give a glimpse of SOME of what we experienced.

The highlight is always seeing our 20-year old son Spencer,
and just hanging out and chatting with him. He is a remarkable young man, and
so much fun to "chill" with.

Love.

We had a fantastic 12-days with
the Egg Farmers of Canada and Egg Farmers of Ontario as they officially
launched their partnership with Heart for Africa and their commitment to build
a Egg Farm on Project Canaan in 2015. This photo is with the Canadian Minister of Agriculture.
We got some great media exposure and the links below are two worth
seeing/reading.

We visited with Ian’s family in Ottawa and always enjoy
seeing everyone and had the privilege of speaking at the West Ottawa Rotary
Club to thank them for their participation in the funding of the Living Water
Dam.

Diane and Jim Maxwell

We got to visit my 84-year old mom, who lives in a
nursing home in Ontario and my cousin Kim who is my voice when I am not there. Each time I see her I am so thankful that my mom is the reason that I believe in Jesus and have followed His path, and I am equally aware that each visit might be our last.

I love you mom.

So thankful for my cousin Kim.

We loved seeing old friends and work colleagues and enjoyed
getting caught up with their lives and families.

My besties... Dee Dee, Judy and Kathryn.

So awesome to see Charlene, Sally and Diane (with Carol Kirk taking the photo).

It seemed that this month was 4-weeks
of meeting for coffee, breakfast, lunch and dinner. Not ideal as we are
trying to lose weight, but so much fun to meet new people and hear
their stories.

From Canada we went back to Georgia for more time with Spencer and got to have amazing burgers with Chad and Amy Gregory as they search Atlanta for the very best hamburger experience.

Our friends, Chad Gregory, CEO of the United Egg Producers, and his beautiful wife Amy.

Welcome North Point/Waumba Land team!

Welcome Marsh family who want to commit to do something "more".

Thank you Kim and David for your hospitality and generosity.

We enjoyed seeing all of our friends at the MedAssets annual
conference in Las Vegas where we sold $4,800 in jewelry and recruited more
people to volunteer with us in 2016.

MedAssets conference with Board members, Sandra Green and Ned Lehman.

On our final Sunday night we were a part of
a wonderful fundraising event with our inspirational friend Captain Jerry Coffee as the key note speaker. Our goal was to get more people to sign up as a monthly Angels and the event raised $24,000 to help with the monthly costs of raising our 91 babies. Maybe you
can help with that today? https://heartforafrica.secure.force.com/pmtx/cmpgn__donations?id=701C0000000VFWR

The Grand Finale happened in Washington, DC, where we spent
time visiting Senator John McCain and then attended a magical evening that our
friends from UPS hosted in the beautiful UPS town house.The goal of that event was to raise funds for us to start
our Hydroponic Greenhouse project to grow strawberries and tomatoes and this
mighty team raised $47,000+ for the project!

Such amazing friends - Janice Johnson and Teri McClure.

Thursday night we got on a plane in DC, routed back through
Atlanta and then flew on to Johannesburg.Today we woke up in South Africa and took one last flight to our beloved
Swaziland.

We are so thankful to all of our friends, family and
supporters who give selflessly and sacrificially help us provide for the
children at Project Canaan, and so many others around the country of Swaziland.

Saturday, April 11, 2015

Food in Swaziland is simple.We eat very “clean” food (not that our weight reflects that
in any visible way).We don’t eat
fast food, food with preservatives and Ian and I love to cook at home
together.

But when you live abroad and plan to head back “home” the
dreams and visions of past food loves start to dance in your head.

When Ian and I landed in Canada, our first lunch stop was to
get Poutine. What is Poutine you
might ask?It is a delicacy from
the French part of Canada and it consists of a bowl of French fries, delicately
sprinkled with squeaky cheese curds, all covered with smoking hot beef
gravy.Then you flavor it to your
personal taste by adding white vinegar, ketchup and lots of fresh pepper.It’s divine, but you can almost feel
your arteries closing while you consume it.

Ian and I love watching The Food Network on Sunday
afternoons, and a particular favorite is Guy Fiery’s “Diners Drive-Ins and Dives” (DDD).A few months ago we discovered that DDD has an APP for
our phones, which we both purchased immediately.Now you might ask WHY we would do that when we don’t even
live in the US, but you should check out the APP yourself and you will see why.
You can follow the locations of the show, add locations to your personal
“bucket list” or just search the APP while you are in a new city.

Ian watched a particular show about a food establishment in
Las Vegas called “Road Kill Grill” and immediately added it to his “bucket
list”.Not only that, but he
arranged for us to arrive in Las Vegas a day earlier than needed for the Med
Assets conference, JUST so that we could go there.No word of a lie.

A 30-minute taxi ride, with a driver who had never been to
“that part of town” ended in an old suburban area that had to have been the
very first houses ever built in Las Vegas.As we arrived it was clear that this was not at DINER, nor was it a DRIVE-IN … but it clearly qualified for
the show, if you know what I mean.

This place is a butchery, and they smoke and preserve meat,
with the claim to fame of being the largest Deer meat processor in the
southwest (pause).

I won’t lie, if the taxi driver hadn’t driven off so
quickly, and my husband hadn’t planned this visit for so many months, I think I
would have headed back to the Vegas strip for a light lunch.But no, the scene was set, the actors
in place and we entered the “establishment” with great expectations (I could
use the words “hesitation” or “anticipation” here).

We were not disappointed. A large stuffed coyote was the
main decoration in a very small cafeteria-style room with five main food items
on the menu. You could order meat, meat or meat.We chose meat … ribs to be exact.

The food was good old-fashioned southern cooking complete
with all the usual sides of mac’n cheese, potato salad, slaw, baked beans or
over cooked green beans.The ribs
were good and the BBQ sauce even better.The salt induced coma that I fell in to shortly after eating required me
to not only have a two hour nap in the afternoon, but our stomach’s actually
refused any thing further for the rest of the day, including dinner.

We still have one more very busy week of fundraising and
meetings ahead so Ian and I decided to make a “wise” decision last night and
stay away from the big costume party/blow out that annually closes the
MedAssets conference.Instead we
decided to do a “tapas-hop” and try a few appetizers from a few new restaurants.

Our final “hop” landed us at a restaurant that is a MUST GO
if you are ever in Las Vegas. It is located at Mandalay Bay and is called Rx Boiler Room.It was there that we fell in love …
with a slider. (For those who
don’t know what a slider is, it’s a very small 2-bite size burger). I was highly skeptical of the “Surf& Turf” slider that was described
as “Filet Mignon, sweet butter poached Maine Lobster with Maltaise sauce”, but
when we questioned the Waiter about it, he literally rolled his eyes with the
look of love and said “you must try it”. And we did. And we fell in love with a
slider.

The rest of the menu was equally outstanding and the Meze
platter of baba ganoush, tzatziki and taramosalata finished of our visit to Las
Vegas (and helped redeem my memories of ribs that almost killed me).

Whether it’s fresh green beans from Project Canaan, “fresh”
Poutine in Canada, or famous ribs in Las Vegas, we love food.And we are thankful that we have access
to good food and choice each and every day when so much of the world does not
have such luxury.

Live from Georgia … thankful to be able to eat meals with
Spencer this weekend.

Saturday, April 4, 2015

This blog is based on a eulogy that I wrote for Shirley Ward’s
funeral on Thursday of this past week. It’s a story of incredible “coincidence”,
or “fate” or “God’s plan” – depending on how you see things. I personally see the hand of God in this situation.

I want to tell you a story.

A story of two people
named Shirley, both of who were chosen by God to make a difference in the
world.It is a story of hope from
hopelessness and one that will be told for generations to come.

The first person we
will call “Gogo Shirley”.Gogo
Shirley is our friend, our sister, our mother, our Grandmother and our Great
Grandmother whom we celebrate this day.

The second person we
will call “Baby Shirley”.

The very day
that Gogo Shirley was taken to Durban, was the very day that a little
baby girl was picked up at the Mawelawela Woman’s Prison and sent to live at
the El Roi Baby Home.We named
this little one “Baby Shirley” because she had just survived the fight of her
life, and we wanted to give her a strong name and a namesake who was a
Jesus-loving, God-fearing, prayer warrior.We named her after Gogo Shirley Ward.

Gogo Shirley in July 2014 at the official opening of the El Rofi Medical Clinic.

This little baby had a
horrific start to life.Her young
mother was filled with hopelessness and decided to dump her newborn baby in to
a pit latrine after giving birth on September 10, 2014.Six hours later the mother went back to
check on the baby only to find her still alive, so then she threw in fire on
top of Baby Shirley to try to kill her.Someone heard the small baby’s cry and ran to her rescue, and because of
that person, Baby Shirley lived.

Baby Shirley at 6-weeks before surgery.

Baby Shirley’s
injuries were extensive and she spent 6-weeks in a government hospital fighting
for her life.When she came to the
El Roi Baby home she struggled to breathe and ended up in hospital with
pneumonia several times because food would go down in to her lungs.

We know that Gogo
Shirley prayed tirelessly for Baby Shirley, and the Lord heard her prayers.Baby Shirley was taken to the US for
surgery and care.She is alive and
well, and even thriving after her life-saving, life-giving surgery.

Baby Shirley was being
loved and cared for by complete strangers who claimed her as their own and
worked diligently to save her life, while Gogo Shirley was being loved and
cared for by her own family who did everything in their power to help extend
her life.

But God’s plans are
not always our plans.It is He who
gives life, and it is He who takes life away. He has numbered our days and it
Is He who decides when we are to be taken home.

And do you know
what?The very day that
Gogo Shirley went “home” to be with the Lord was the very day that Baby
Shirley came “home” to Swaziland to live at the EL Roi Baby home again.

This story is one of
so many stories that each of us could share about seeing the hand of God on
Shirley Ward’s life.

·It was
Shirley who met with Cindy Van Wyk and told her we were looking to buy some
land, which eventually became Project Canaan.

·It was
Shirley who sat for hours (or days) on end in government offices to try to
determine the process for opening a home for abandoned babies.

·It was
Shirley who met the Social Welfare Officer who brought the first baby, Joshua,
to the El Roi Baby home.

·It was
Shirley who answered phones, ran to the bank, anointed babies with oil, cried
when babies died, cheered when babies were rescued, called the Inkhosikati when
we needed help, met with government leaders and pastors to make sure that the
orphans of the Kingdom were allowed to attend Litsemba.

·Shirley
was a mighty warrior with a sharp sword and an army of angels behind her.

Shirley, you were a
great friend, an incredible role model and have changed the face of
Swaziland.You will be greatly
missed.

Your name will be
known to all of the children at Project Canaan and your strength, your
fortitude and your faith will remain with all who live in the city on the hill
that you helped build.You
finished well.

Shirley’s family had a service in her honor on Thursday, and
her ashes will be returned to Swaziland where she will be buried on Project
Canaan when we arrive back at the end of April.